Friday, August 16, 2013

Fabulous Friday Feature-Shannon Taylor Vannatter

Today I welcome Shannon Taylor Vannatter,who has witnessed God's blessings through family and friends

Enter to win Shannon's new release,

Rodeo Regrets

Scroll to the end of the post to see how to enter.God Gave Me A Little Help From My Friends

For fifteen years I had a story in my head. In the summer of 1999, I
realized this story was much more; it was a book. I purchased a computer and
began writing my first manuscript.

In 2004, six unpublished books later, I sank into a writing crossroad. Two
hundred rejection letters littered my desk. I thought I had done everything
right—after all, I belonged to two local writing groups and did everything in
my power to attend local conferences and workshops. My brain was on overload
from learning, but I wasn’t learning anything specific to my genre.

I googled “Christian Romance Writers Conference” and stumbled upon the American
Christian Romance Writers. What a dream. The conference was held in Denver,
Colorado that year and sounded like a writer’s heaven. Unfortunately my
stay-at-home mom life and budget didn’t agree.

Early the next year, my grandmother left all her grandchildren a savings
bond. The very amount needed to pay for a conference registration. I checked on-line for the date of the next conference. By then the name had changed to the American
Christian Fiction Writers and would be held in Nashville, Tennessee. Only six
hours away! Fantastic. I only needed enough money for gas, food, and lodging.

I registered, chose my editor and agent appointments, and made travel
plans. I even got an appointment with Tracy Peterson, the acquisition editor
for Heartsong Presents, where I’d already sent my book proposal. Since I hadn’t
heard whether my book was accepted, I figured I could just sell the book to Tracy in person. No
biggie.

A month before conference, I received a rejection letter from Heartsong
Presents. I nose-dived into anguish for two days, then picked myself up, and
decided I would just have to convince Tracy in person.

That September I walked into the beautiful hotel lobby and saw her, Tracy
Peterson. I didn’t know what to say.Feeling way out of my
league the next morning, I found an empty table to sit at for breakfast. Friendly writers
soon filled the empty seats around me. I met kind people like Margaret Daley.

After the first workshop session, I realized I barely knew the basics
about writing. My brain tried to process all the new information and keep up
with everything I’d learned. By my appointment time with Tracy, I was on
overload.

I recapped my story for her and asking why she’d rejected it. She told me
there wasn’t enough conflict and then brainstormed with me how to fix it. She
even agreed to take another look after the changes.

After we got home, I upped the conflict in my book and sent it off, but it
was rejected again. I realize now, my writing wasn’t ready to be published.

In 2006, I sat down at an empty breakfast table at the conference in
Dallas. A lovely lady approached me and asked if anyone was sitting beside me.
I said no. She offered her hand and said, “Hi, I’m LeNora Worth.” My jaw hit
the floor. Lenora is my favorite Love Inspired author. I’d read countless books
of hers.

In 2008, I joined ACFW, took advantage of joining a critique group, and
trolled the course archives and learned the conference would be in Minneapolis
that year. Way too far and expensive for me, but I heard about the local zone group
meeting in Little Rock. I attended the meeting twice that summer and met Linda
Fulkerson. A few months later, out of the blue, she e-mailed asking if I wanted
a ride to Minneapolis.

A few weeks later, my critique partner who happened to live near
Minneapolis e-mailed asking if I wanted to stay at her house and ride back and
forth to the conference with her. So, I had a ride and a place to stay, but
still no funds for the conference. A few weeks later, God blessed by sending money
out of nowhere.

I met two of my critique partners, Brenda Anderson and Lorna Seilstad, at
the confernce and made other close friends that year. For the first time, I
attended the early bird session and took Marjorie Lawson’s EDITs class. The
scales fell from my eyes showing me what went in a book and what didn’t. That
class was the culmination of all the others and brought my writing to a
publishable level.

By then, I’d added conflict to my story and scheduled a meeting with
JoAnne Simmons, acquisition editor at Heartsong Presents. I’ll never forget the moment her eyes lit up over my story. She requested the full. I went home, used
the techniques I’d learned in the EDITs class, and sent the manuscript to
JoAnne. In January, I received an offer.

Without ACFW, it’s highly possible I wouldn’t be published. And without
God providing the means, I never would have gone to the first conference or the
pivotal one where I received the request for a full.

Lately, things have been coming full circle. A few years ago, I taught at
ACFW. This month, my seventh book, Rodeo Regrets released and two more are in
progress.

That story in my head since I was fifteen, it releases in November.

Rodeo Regrets:

NATALIE WENTWORTH'S PAST IS ABOUT TO CATCH UP WITH HER

Natalie once
dreamed of finding true love. Then Lane Gray broke her heart. After running
wild to fill the emptiness inside her, she heads back to her hometown to heal.
But when she sees the cowboy she once loved so much, she finds him hard to
resist.

Lane Gray is
a changed man. The handsome cowboy wants Natalie's forgiveness-and more.
Natalie has made plenty of mistakes in her life, but so has Lane. Could falling
for each other again be the worst one yet? Or the path to redemption?

Shannon Taylor Vannatter is a stay-at-home mom and pastor’s
wife. Her
debut novel won the 2011 Inspirational
Readers’ Choice Award. When not writing, she runs circles
in the care and feeding of her husband, their son, and church congregation.
Home is a central Arkansas zoo with two charcoal gray cats, a chocolate lab,
and three dachshunds in weenie dog heaven. If given the chance to clean house
or write, she’d rather write.

27 comments:

So enjoyed your interview, Shannon! I am not a writer, but think it helps us, as readers, to appreciate books more fully when we understand, not only the steps involved in writing a book, but the preparation required beforehand, & also - the steps to publication. Thanks for letting the Lord use your talent to bless us, your readers.

In addition to the blessing of having books written by Christian writers - God has blessed me by providing for my needs since retiring in 2007. After moving back to my hometown, to be near aging family members, I had planned to continue working (for financial reasons) - even though I doubted that I was physically able to continue doing so. The right job never came along, & it has been a financial struggle without the added income - but He has provided, & I have had the time to enjoy many small pleasures that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise, & none of the pressures of trying to hold down a job when I didn't feel physically able to.

Oh my goodness! My heart was racing as I read this. I almost skipped over words to see what was coming up next. Ha.

God is proving right now, we have had a lot of unexpected medical expenses and He has provided for them. Meanwhile, I'm planning a surprise party to celebrate our 25th anniversary. I have so much to do and all the medical appointments...I trust He will bring everything together for the party too.

Cindy, it was a long, hard, frustrating road. But I learned much in the process. We've had medical expenses this year too. They can be so overwhelming, but He provided for ours too. It's amazing how He takes care of us.

Shannon, I really enjoyed your post. God has truly blessed your writing. There have been times through my illness, I didn't have the money to pay bills and would receive money from someone that I would never have thought would do anything for me. God works in mysterious ways and I'm thankful He does. Thank you for sharing, Shannon. Please enter me in the giveaway. Thank you!!Barbara Thompsonbarbmaci61(at)yahoo(dot)com

Loved your life walking with Jesus story!! "Do you trust Me?" How wonderfully you stepped out. I would love to find out how Natalie and Lane's story turns out as they follow Him too. Blessings and such a great post! I received an e-mail notice bringing me here to read your post. Kathleen ~ Lane Hill Houselanehillhouse[at]centurylink[dot]net

Hey, Shannon. I am so thankful GOD will give us second chances no matter how we fail. And, HE loves so much, that we get so many more than two. I am so glad we get second chances. Mine turned out to be wonderful. And, I could certainly use another Rodeo book. Thanks for this give-away. And, GOD bless the both of you. Please putt my name in the drawing. MAXIE mac262(at)me(dot)com

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According to new FTC rules I must let you, the reader know, that all views shared on this blog are strictly my own. Books to review are either provided for me by the author, publisher or ones I have purchased and I am under no obligation whatsoever to present anything, but my true opinion on any product. I receive no monetary compensation for anything written on this blog. Any giveaways on this blog are provided by the author/ publisher and I am not responsible for any views they express in their work or on this site. Giveaways are void were prohibited and chances of winning are based on the number of applicants. A random winner is drawn when a book is given away.